Governor’s Letter
October 16, 2007
The KIWANIS AED Project
A Remarkable Opportunity to Change the World
One Child and One AED at a time!
As Kiwanians, we have a unique opportunity to impact our communities with meaningful service. As a District, we now
have the opportunity to not only impact and improve lives, but to actually save the lives of children, teachers and parents
by placing an Automated External Defibrillator in every school in Louisiana, Mississippi,
and West Tennessee. Welcome to our District’s first Major Emphasis Service Initiative
– the Kiwanis AED Project!
Over the illustrious history of our great District, it had become tradition for each Governor to adopt a favorite cause
or charity to promote as a Governor’s project. We have engaged in significant service in areas such as reading and literacy,
child abuse prevention, and special needs children. Each of these worthy projects were important in the fact that awareness
and resources were delivered to areas of need in our District. The problem lay in the fact that each year Kiwanians had to
embrace and learn a new and different project. By the time we had built momentum for one initiative, it was time to start
anew with the new Governor’s project. As Kiwanians, we never had the opportunity to build any “brand” identification
with any single project or service. In this year of change, your District Board and Delegates to our 89th Annual
District Convention voted to change our world and our District with the adoption of a long term project that could yield significant
impact through meaningful service and provide momentum to facilitate membership growth and club revitalization.
The Kiwanis AED project represents an incredible opportunity to build partnerships that can absolutely create momentum
and club awareness in your community. This project can allow your club to strengthen relationships with your Service Leadership
Programs such as Key Club, Builders Club and K-Kids by promoting fundraising to acquire AEDs for their schools. This project
can create amazing opportunities to approach local businesses, philanthropies, school districts, and governments to partner
with your club to ensure every school has at least one AED on campus. Finally, the this project creates an unbelievable
opportunity for positive public relations and media exposure as you announce your club’s commitment to place at least
one of these lifesaving devices in every school in your service area over the next several years.
As your Governor, I have had the distinct honor of organizing this campaign. We may never know the impact we could
have on our communities and the world from the contributions of someone whose life is saved because we cared enough to place
an AED in their school. When you touch the life of a child, you truly touch eternity. You will never know how far your influence
will lead.
On Thursday, October 18, 2007, the Great and Historic Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District of Kiwanis International
will officially launch the Kiwanis AED Project. Clubs will receive both electronically and by snail-mail all materials necessary
to launch this club initiative. Join my Challenge of Change, embrace the concept that transformation begins where the status
quo ends, and help us change the world by growing in service and in membership.
Together we cannot fail.
David A. Pickler
Governor
